If a system or organization is described as a bastionof a particular way of life, it is seen as being important and effective in defending that way of life. Bastion can be used both when you think that this way of life should be ended and when you think it should be defended.
[formal]
...a town which had been a bastion of white prejudice. [+ of]
...a bastion of spiritual freedom.
The army was still one of the last male bastions.
Synonyms: stronghold, support, defence, rock More Synonyms of bastion
bastion in British English
(ˈbæstɪən)
noun
1.
a projecting work in a fortification designed to permit fire to the flanks along the face of the wall
2.
any fortified place
3.
a thing or person regarded as upholding or defending an attitude, principle, etc
the last bastion of opposition
Word origin
C16: from French, from earlier bastillon bastion, from bastilleBastille
bastion in American English
(ˈbæstʃən; ˈbæstiən)
noun
1.
a projection from a fortification, arranged to give a wider firing range
2.
any fortified place; strong defense or bulwark
often used figuratively
Derived forms
bastioned (ˈbastioned)
adjective
Word origin
Fr < MFr bastillon < OFr bastille: see bastille
Examples of 'bastion' in a sentence
bastion
She discovers that the last bastion of humanity lives in a complex network of underground caves.
Christianity Today (2000)
And is light entertainment the last bastion of male chauvinism?
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Dance can still seem like the last male cultural bastion.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
What worries them is the dismantling of bastions of privilege.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
This school seems more bastion of privilege than object of charity.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Football has been a bastion of our freedom to let rip.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The role of the pub as a bastion of male bonding has also been eroded by changing social mores.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Last post for the male bastion?
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
It is a final male bastion.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Conservatives argue that it should be banned largely for religious reasons while liberals say that it is the last bastion of inequality.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The last great bastion of French culinary purity has gone ethnic.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
One of the last bastions of freedom is the Press.
The Sun (2012)
Some areas clearly remain bastions of male power - but for how much longer?
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
It is still the last male bastion, she says.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
A secondary modern in England's last bastion of selective education has turned itself into a comprehensive in a plan to rival nearby grammar schools.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
In other languages
bastion
British English: bastion NOUN
If a system or organization is described as a bastion of a particular way of life, it is seen as being important and effective in defending that way of life.
...a bastion of home cooking.
American English: bastion
Brazilian Portuguese: baluarte
Chinese: 堡垒
European Spanish: bastión
French: bastion
German: Bastion
Italian: roccaforte
Japanese: とりで
Korean: 요새
European Portuguese: baluarte
Latin American Spanish: bastión
(noun)
Definition
a thing or person regarded as defending a principle or way of life
The government tends to see itself as a bastion of common sense.
Synonyms
stronghold
The seat was a stronghold of the Labour Party.
support
Andrew is terrific. He's been such a support to me.
defence
rock
She was the rock of the family.
prop
The timber is reinforced with three steel props on a concrete foundation.
refuge
fortress
a 13th-century fortress
mainstay
Fish and rice were the mainstays of their diet.
citadel
The citadel at Besançon towered above the river.
bulwark
a bulwark against the English
tower of strength
fastness
Additional synonyms
in the sense of bulwark
Definition
a wall or similar structure used as a fortification